


Moving Shadows

by Eminda



Series: Improbable, Impossible [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, M/M, pairing not featured in the work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 06:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14611956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eminda/pseuds/Eminda
Summary: A continuation to 'Parallels of Lobachevsky kind' featuring Nat. No Frostiron in this one, sorry.





	Moving Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: I'll be posting separate fics expanding the first one but not in direct order. They are fighting me and this takes place after Asgard takes off the Earth but Tony and Loki decide to organise a 'public' meeting. I'll deal with it laterrrrr. 
> 
> Now, I'm quite proud if that one. It took me quite a long while to resolve Nat's actions in my head and understand what I'm going to do with her next. I think she's very idealised in MCU and a lot of works as this always cool, collected, super intelligent, beautiful, strong, able, skillful assassin slash woman goddess stripped of faults. On the other hand she can be drawn as this regretful and scared and suddenly very aware and sorry person which also doesn't really rings true for me. So I wrote this, a person very alien to everyday norms and ways of thinking.  
> Hope you enjoy.

Natasha is sipping her tea in Uzbekistan and checking her phone (no Stark tech anymore, she’s smarter than that). Briefly, she contemplates the odds of contacting the team, but dismisses the idea - Natasha is almost certain where they are, but she knows enough of Wakandan rules and she cherishes her freedom far more than a possible reunion. Not to mention that the boys are probably getting cabin fever and Wanda is chaotic in her moods almost always. No, Natasha is not willing to play mom for them. Later, when the dust has settled, she will come. She knows Clint understands it.

On the tiny screen, Loki zeroes in on Tony and smiles like a shark. “I’ve got acquaintances on Midgard.” He proclaims smugly. 

It’s a quite boring footage of Earth negotiating who will be the one honored with Loki’s knowledge of magic and possibly some kind of science Asgard has been dealing with. Natasha has been following the news and she keeps on being unimpressed with Loki; she suspected his play long ago, when Pepper has shown with him in public and one could almost pity Tony, because he managed to hide his surprise and apprehension, but not fast enough. 

Natasha smiles slightly - maybe it’ll make it easier to sneak back. Regardless of Loki’s posturing she knows a man showing off to hide wounded ego and his childish hurts, so any public barb at her lowers the alien even more in her estimation. There is very little chance she won’t be able to outdo him again, and judging by Tony’s brief grimace he would welcome any help. 

The Earth is truly desperate, just as she’s declared, if they agree to pander to an alien boy.

She watches Tony put on a brave face and pretend he calls all the shots; it’s amusing, in a slightly pitiful way. There was a reason Natasha did what she did, and that was that for all his failings Steve knows how to hold his ground and grow a spine. Tony Stark is… well, it’s a miracle he’s still alive, let alone functioning. Natasha may have been ordered to play nice, but pander to the ego of an overgrown brat or be under his command? She’s too good and she knows it. 

“Ya opozdala, da?” A slightly breathless voice sounds and a woman sits next to Natasha, a breathless laughter on her lips and a hint of Moscow accent in pronunciation. “Zabludilas’ bez tebya, mogla by i podozhsat’!”

Despite Natasha’s instincts voting for action her face settles in a smile - she can feel muscles contracting and pulling at her mouth, head nodding against her brain’s orders. She looks at the newcomer - tall forehead, jet black hair, sculpted face with high cheekbones and plump lips tinted dark violet. And the eyes - laughing, smug eyes, an expression which only adds to the picture. 

“Hello.” Natasha replies coldly, conveying her disdain through her eyes.

“Ooh, showing off your English?” Loki gushes and Natasha’s throat closes on reply, letting out only a slight hiss. Her body is still betraying her - head tilting as if in a coy, friendly nod, shoulders giving a shrug, hands settling primly on a table in front of her. 

“You make a better woman.” Natasha finally manages, when the pressure inside her throat loosens somewhat. 

There is no barbed reply, Loki simply laughs and sets her elbow on the table, cradles the chin in an almost cinematographically elegant gesture. “Thank you, Natashen’ka.” The woman is dressed far too boldly for the place and her naked shoulders are driving too many stares. Natasha can’t do a thing, though, her face contorting into a friendly grimace again. 

Grudgingly, one has to admit that Loki  _ does  _ wear his woman disguise well. There is no awkward gestures or face ticks, unneeded posturing. 

“Hmm.” The mage finally deigns, giving one particularly bold viewer such a dismissing, mocking once over the man blushes and walks away, spitting in their direction. “Maybe I should have shrouded us in an illusion. But that’s so much more fun!” She smiles. 

Natasha settles inside her skin and waits. No matter the form Loki loves posturing and blabbering - she won’t give that child any satisfaction by reacting. 

“You are hollow, my spider.” Loki muses. “Love for your country has long burnt from you, love for your new home has never taken place and you know people so well that loving them is impossible. No emotional attachment, only cold, clear calculation.”

They look at each other with the same cool detachment laced with superior amusement. “And all that is left to keep on moving for is your shell.”

“I can give you Alzheimer’s.” He hums and somewhere deep inside Natasha flinches. Green eyes zero in on hers, giving away nothing. Unsettlingly, there's power in Loki's gaze, one Natasha rarely sees no matter what kind of player she's up against. It’s a patient, calm stare, part benevolent, part alert but mostly inert. 

She  _ hates  _ it. 

“But you are nothing but a spoiled, greedy boy scraping for every ounce of affection and recognition, parading his weaknesses around and not even realizing it. With you as a ruler it’s little wonder Asgard got destroyed.” 

Disgustingly, there is little change in Loki’s expression. 

“Are you cross because your cleavage doesn’t work on me?” The woman finally asks politely. 

Before Natasha even opens her mouth the seat next to her is empty. Someone gives out a startled shout and she has to play along, mimic panicking and slip away in the resulting chaos. 

The event leaves her strangely unsettled; she doesn’t like it when a new player enters her plans; Loki is petty and probably possesses an ability to track her down. She narrows her eyes thoughtfully - it’s time to call for some favours in Mongolia. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Natasha catches the interview as it begins. Loki just enters the sparsely furnished studio, acting charming and carefree, greets his hostess and sprawls on a chair. Anne Kirshenbaum, an immaculately dressed and sharp-eyed woman visibly submits after ten minutes - she mirrors the pose of her guest and her questions become less pointed and sarcastic. It’s not so much an interview as a talk, two well educated people discussing the variety of subjects. Admittedly, it’s boring, but as of now Loki is one of the wildest cards the Avengers (the original, true Avengers) have to deal with and unlike most people Natasha knows how to stove off her boredom and prepare. 

After another forty minutes her name pops up and the woman indulges her wish to raise her brow sardonically. Of  _ course  _ he wouldn’t be able to help himself. 

“Now, I admit watching the Earth’s mightiest heroes was immensely joyful.”

“Oh, was it?” Anne asks, but her smile is only partially biting. 

“It was. One learns to enjoy the examples of failings lest life becomes infinitely frustrating.”

“And why the Black Widow? What prompted you to talk of her?”

“Oh,” Loki waves his hand dismissively, “so many people are intimidated by her rumored reputation and well-rehearsed frown, but you have seen my best friend.” 

“Hildr.” Anne half-asks. 

“Hildr, yes, one of my oldest friends, Vanaheim’s most diverse mage and an excellent archer. It’s hard to be impressed after knowing her.” 

“Well, personally I am not very impressed with a person who tells the very people shielding them that there’s no choice but to pardon them.”

Loki laughs. “Yes, it was  _ delightful _ . It seems the Widow has decided to emulate some of the Stark’s tactics, although with less flair, I must admit.” 

“Ridiculous how it worked.”

“Ridiculous, yes. But as far as I understand public opinion is of extreme importance to the politics of the United States, and a figure such as Captain America holds massive importance. This sway encompasses his companions, and at the time the Widow was one. More interesting, I think, is the way she let her wounded pride dictate her actions.”

“Pride or ego?” Anne smiles, with contempt and condescension. 

“Both? What is the difference in that case?  _ The best assassin in the world  _ was played, and played expertly, she needed to regain her footing, to hide her lack of posture. Does it matter for someone with a hit record like hers if tens of thousands of people die as a result of her actions? People die, and she is the best.”

The hostess purses her lips in momentary thought. “Now that is more of speculation talk.”

“Mayhaps it is seen as one, but I talked to Widow more than once. I remember, she said something about the ‘red in her ledger’, which is laughable, considering Director Fury didn’t even bother evacuating the base under attack and as the uncovered information revealed SHIELD’s and HYDRA’s aims may vary but their means certainly don’t. And what would they do with an assassin if not send her to eliminate enemies? No, records show that Natalia Romanova is not about redemption but about adaptation and survival.”

“With such logic, it can be said that the info dump was posturing.”

“Not as much posturing as threatening. With so many capable and trained agents out of the question Natalia’s cost naturally increased.”

Anne leaned back in her chair. “While we can’t know the truth that sounds more plausible than ‘she didn’t know it would turn out like that’. And what do you think are the reasons for her siding with Rogers? Dr Stark has more influence, it is easier and more beneficial to side with him.”

Loki hums. “Now, this is more like speculation for me. As I said, too many people think of the Widow as someone impenetrable. However, such thing is simply impossible. This is trite, but everyone has a weakness. From what I observed Natalia prefers to be commanded by strong-willed people. Perhaps it is a failsafe of her initial handlers, perhaps it is a part of her own nature, but during the course of her life Natalia gravitated towards people who gave her commands without restrain. Between Stark, who prefers to accommodate, and Rogers, who likes to be accommodated to, it is logical she would gravitate towards one who is seemingly more strong-willed.”

“Seemingly.”

“Oh, I learned very early to not confuse stubbornness with will. Have you seen Asgard’s current king?”

They both laugh. 

“Now, I personally don’t think Romanova would be very pleased with a commander like Rogers. He’s untrained, undereducated and underqualified to realize her talents to the fullest. Moreover, he tends to look down on people with different outlook on life and Romanova is too prideful to allow that as anything but a long con.”

“And that is an interesting thought. Do you think that maybe Romanoff never really left the Red Room program? It is highly suspicious someone of her history would be accepted in a rivaling agency.”

“From what I gathered none of the official intelligence agencies have ever considered SHIELD as rival; more of an annoyance. As for your question, no, I don’t. What would be the purpose? Civil war, no matter charming monikers people assign, true civil unrest never happened, the government still stands, and there are better ways of taking apart an organization, especially as large as that.”

“For example?”

“For example, cause an unrest inside the organization, splitting it in two and essentially crippling. Overtaking one fraction and using it to destroy the other. Romanova’s actions are just chaotic. Also, from what we can see, she’s very limited in her arsenal. Naturally, it’s been quite a long time since I’ve been on Midgard -Earth - for more than a brief visit, but in India and Mesopotamia seduction was much more than showing someone a fresh piece of flesh.”

“Yes, you mentioned that.”

“I did exactly because too many think of her as someone ultimate. Now, of course people used to work with delicacy, tact and subtlety would never declare their unrivaled worth for all to see unless it will result in something truly worthy, so we can’t compare the tactics. Then again, why would someone used to resolve delicate issues be wasted with Avengers, on field? No, Natalia was exactly where needed.”

“Do you think she is with Rogers?”

“I doubt it, as I said, they are too different in their views and ultimately, hiding next to someone with subtlety and delicacy of Rogers can be galling for a person of more clandestine tastes.”

Anne smiles again. She seems to be disturbingly charmed, the way people are entranced by someone just  _ that  _ clever,  _ that  _ charismatic, not overpowered, but genuinely involved. “And how is your work with the current Avengers? Is it easier to be around Dr Stark the second time around?”

“Yes and no, now I have to watch my words.” Loki gives a rueful sigh and they both laugh again, seemingly on the track of becoming friends. 

 

Some part of Natasha recognizes that reacting to some blabbering with such anger is exactly the sign that she is compromised. Mostly she doesn’t care. Yes, she is the best. She survived and adapted because she is the best and while the fate of some of her fellow co-workers can be considered tragic they knew the risks. She is better prepared; she  _ is better _ . Steve may be a fool but he would never show a weakness before a failure of a conqueror or agree working with him. 

One-trick pony. In the end, all people are the same and if it doesn’t take much to work them open then it’s a matter of prudence to stick to the best tactics. But of course,  _ Mesopotamia _ . Sacred prostitution, cults of sex - next Loki will be declaring Natasha a bad assassin. 

She smirks jaggedly, her face giving minute sporadic ticks and cradles a pendant in her palm. It is something she procured with great care and effort and next time the wannabe-profiler shows up he will learn exactly why she is  _ the  _ Black Widow. 

**Author's Note:**

> Translation from Russian:  
> “Ya opozdala, da?” - I'm late, aren't I?  
> “Zabludilas’ bez tebya, mogla by i podozhsat’!” - I got lost without you, could've waited!


End file.
